Q's Return Explained: What It Means For Picard Season 2
Star Trek: Picard season 2 has confirmed the return of Q (John de Lancie) and the mischievous omnipotent being will plague Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) once again. Star Trek: Picard season 2 is in production now, reuniting Stewart with the motley crew he assembled in season 1, including Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Soji (Isa Briones), and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd). The arrival of Q also shifts Star Trek: Picard season 2's focus to being about time, which is fertile ground that ties into Q's most memorable appearances in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Q is inextricably bonded to Jean-Luc Picard and they both debuted in "Encounter at Farpoint", the series premiere of TNG. As a member of the Q Continuum, Q possessed godlike powers and immortality, and he took special umbrage at the audacity of humans to travel through space. To that end, Q placed Picard and humanity on trial in "Encounter at Farpoint". Q made multiple appearances in TNG to torment Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D, but his greatest role was in TNG's series finale, "All Good Things", where Q taunted Picard to solve a mystery involving three different points in time relating to their first meeting. Q also made appearances in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager but he hasn't appeared in live-action since. However, Q made a delightful cameo in the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks where he continues to put the crews of other Starfleet ships on trial.
Q appears to be a focal point in Star Trek: Picard season 2, which seems to be about time, which is "the true final frontier" according to Picard's narration in the Star Trek: Picard season 2 teaser. Picard muses about "what we wish we'd done... what could have been..." and the Admiral continues that, "Time offers many opportunities but never second chances". As a Queen of Hearts playing card dissolves, leaving only the Q, it heralds the return of the omnipotent being. While light on details, the Star Trek Picard season 2 teaser nevertheless opens up some fascinating possibilities about Q's role in Jean-Luc Picard's next chapter.
In the Star Trek: First Contact Day panel featuring Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie that was hosted by Wil Wheaton, Stewart was careful not to divulge any spoilers but he noted that Q arrives at a "shattering, and I do mean shattering" moment for Picard. Meanwhile, de Lancie also teased that Q's appearance would be different in Star Trek: Picard season 2, and the omnipotent being will likely appear older to reflect the actor's current age.
And yet, all of the talk of time could mean that like in "All Good Things", multiple timelines will come into play in Star Trek: Picard season 2. Stewart dropped a hint when he referred to season 2 delving into different "times". The legendary actor also was excited that, despite 178 episodes of TNG and 4 movies, there are events in Star Trek: Picard season 2 that "have never been seen before". This could easily factor into Q's omnipotent powers, and perhaps the cosmic imp will take Picard and his new friends both backward into TNG's past (and even beyond) and possibly even forward in time as well. Q's final words in Star Trek: Picard season 2's teaser were, "The trial never ends", which indicates that once more, Picard will be forced to defend all of humanity against universal crimes as perceived by Q.
It's possible that at this point, with Picard having died and been resurrected in an android body, the Starfleet legend's entire life will now be judged by his immortal adversary. If so, how this could play out, how it will affect Picard's new crew, and whether Q's new trial will call upon castmembers from The Next Generation - especially Worf (Michael Dorn), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), who didn't appear in Star Trek: Picard season 1 - are mysteries Star Trek: Picard season 2 will answer in 2022.